US using human rights as excuse,Hussain Ibrahimi

A senior Iranian lawmaker says 'human rights violation' is merely an excuse the US and its allies use to impose travel bans against Iranian officials.

Iran has repeatedly experienced such games [played] by the US and Western countries.

These countries continuously try to counter Iran's efforts by any means possible,â€ Deputy head of Iran's Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Hossein Ebrahimi was quoted by IRNA on Saturday.

Ebrahimi said the US is particularly upset about Iran's influence in the region and said they are â€œexpressing their apprehensionâ€ under the banner of human rights.

On Friday, the US, Britain and Canada issued travel bans against 52 Iranian figures including government ministers, military and law enforcement officers, and judiciary officials over alleged violations of human rights or connections to Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran criticizes the West for using human rights issue as a political means to pile up pressure on the Islamic Republic.

Last month, Iran's Foreign Ministry underlined the need for the international monitoring of human rights violations in Western countries and added that the ministry would actively pursue the case.